David h



(No Model.)

D. H. MATHIAS.

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DAVID H. MATHIAS, OF ALBANY, NEW YORK.

LUNCH-CASE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 271,724, dated February6, 1883.

(No model.)

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, DAVID H. MATHIAS, acitizen of the United States, residing in the city of Albany, and countyof Albany, in the State of New York, have invented certain new anduseful Improvements in Lunch-Gases, of which the following is a full andclear description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings,forming a part of this specification.

My invention relates tolunch'cases in which the ends of the case aremade with curved rails, having metallic waysin which work rollersattached to a segmental sliding door, and also in which a shelf, atfixedto and supported by the side rails, forms the top of the case, underwhich the sliding door will he moved when the case is opened.

The objects of my invention are to provide in lunch-cases asegmentalsliding door, which will be mounted on rollers and operate withsegmental or curved ways made with the ends of the case, whereby thesaid door will be adapted to be easily moved in either direction foropening or closing the case, and also to so combine with the body of thelunch-case having a sliding door a shelf, which will form the top of thecase, and at the same time stiifen the ends thereof against swaying, andalso operate to permit the sliding door to be moved beneath the samewhen the door is opened. I attain these objects by means of the devicesand arrangement of parts illustrated in the accompanying drawings, inwhieh Figure 1 represents a perspective view' of the lunch-casecontaining my improvements. Fig. 2 represents a plan view of the samewith parts broken away andexposing the means for supporting the slidingdoor. Fig. 3 is a sectional elevation of the case, taken in acrossdirection at line No. 1 in Fig. 2; and Fig. Ais a sectional detail viewat full size at line No. 2 in Figs. 2 and 3, and illustrates the meansfor supporting and carrying the sliding door.

In the'drawings, A representsthe bottomof the case. B B are the endsthereof. 0 is the rear side. E is the segmental vertically-sliding door,and F is the top, forming a shelf.

Framed firmly with bottom A, at the rear corners of the same, are rearstandards, a, and framed with said rear standards and bottom (at thefront corners thereof) are the curved rails b b, the curved. portions ofwhich are made on a curve of a perfect circle, equal to the curvature ofthe segmental sliding door. Firmly secured to each of said curved railsare the segmental curved ways G, which ways are each made on a radius ofabout ten inches (more or less) and from center as about two inchesabove the bottom of the case. These ways are made of cast-iron and withweb 0 and flanges c c", which together form a recessed Way, as shown inFigs. 2, 3, and 4-, and they are set facing to each other, being firmlysecured to the curved side rails, I), at their inner sides, with theirends terminating at bottom A, as shown in Fig. 3. Ashelf, F, isfirmlysecured at its ends to the upper sides of curved rails I) b, andstays the same and their attached curved ways from beingswayed outofavertical position, and at the same time forms the top of the case,beneath which the sliding door will pass when it is moved open. The endsof the case are made of wire-cloth, and the back of the case may be madesolid and fixed, or be made to consist of a hinged panel drop-door, or adoor composed of a frame and covered with wire-cloth.

The door E is made to consist of a wire-covered frame made curved indirection of its length, and is composed of top and bottom rails, 61 d,and curved end rails, e c, secured firmly together, and the wire-clothcoveringf The curvature of this door is the same as that of ways G G,and it is made with a length slightly shorter than thelength of distancebetween said ways, and with a width-a little greater than the length ofthe arch between bottom A and shelf F.

Secured at each end of the sliding door E and near each corner thereofare rollers rone at each cornerwhich rollers are mounted on pintles 8,(shown by dotted lines in Fig. 4,) secured to the curved end rails, 0.These rollerstwo at each end-work intheirrespective recessed ways G, andhave bearing on the inner or lower flange, c, of each way, asshown inFigs. 2, 3, and 4, while they are held in place by the outer or upperflange, 0 The rollers r '1', being secured to the ends of the curvedsliding door, support and carry the door in all its movements, and,working in the reeesses ot' the ways, cause the door to be securely heldin place between the same in its horizontal direction, and between theshelt F and bottom A in its vertical direction of extension, and also tohave freedom for being readily moved upward from bottom A toward andbeneath shelf F and to the rearward side of the case,'so that accesswill be had to the chamber-room within, and be as readily moved in thereverse direction for closing the case. A closing-strip, g, made of thinwood strip secured to the curved rails b b, is made to cover over theupper side of ways G and lap over the marginal edge of end rails, c, ofthe door, as shown in Fig. 4.

Arranged with the door-frame at intervals of ten inches (more or less)apart are the elastic bow-strips m, which bow-strips are made ofspring-steel about one-quarter of one inch in width and scantone-sixteenth of one inch in thickness, and bowed on a curve equal tothe curvature of the inner sides of the end rails, e, of the door, andare secured to the top and bottom rails, d (I. These elastic bow-stripsoperate as supports to the wire-cloth eoveringf, and will admit of beingpressed upon without being permanently bent from their originalcurvature.

By my improvements the body of the lunchca'se is made to support shelf1* in a convenient situation for receiving and temporarily holdingarticles which it may be desirable to transfer to chamber-room of thecase, or which may be removed from the same, as circumstances mayrequire, and the shelf itself is made to operate as a staying-piece tothe ways G, to hold them in the same vertical position without the leastliability of their rocking in ward to pinch on the sliding door or beingmoved outward from the same; and the door is made to have its supportfrom the ways, without the employment of any arms pivoted to theends ofthe caseand working within the same with liability of their strikingdishes or other articles within when the door is swung back and forth,as heretofore made in this class of lunch-cases.

If selected, one or more shelves maybe supported within the case frombars east with the segmental ways G or from other pieces attached to orsuspended within the ease.

I am aware thatlunch-cases coy'ered at their ends and upper and frontsides with wire-cloth are old, and also that lunch-cases having seg'mental or curved doors, carried by arms pivoted to the ends of the caseinside, are old. Such cases I do not claim as being my invention, as thearms carrying the covers or doors were calculated to strike plates ordishes set against the ends of the case, past which the arms will movewhen the door or cover is being opened. By my improvements the door orcover is freed from all adjunctive parts which work and move within thechamberroom of the case when the door is moved.

Having described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure byLetters Patent, 1s-- 1. In a lunch-case, the combination, with the bodyof the ease provided at its ends with segmental recessed ways G, ofsegmentaldoor or cover E, provided at its ends with rollers r adapted towork in the recesses of said ways and carry said door when moved, allsubstantially as and for the purpose set forth.

- 2. In a lunch-case, the combination, with end rails, b I), havingvertieally-standing segmental recessed curved ways G, secured there to,in which rollers working therein carry a sliding curved door, of the toppiece, F, secured at its ends to said rails bl), and arranged above saidsegmental ways, all substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

DAVID H. MATHIAS.

\Vitnesses:

CORNELIUS VAN DUZEN, HENRY E. DRUMM.

